2019 in Review

Another one bites the dust eh?   So, how did the year go?

PAINTING (8 resolutions)

1. Fully Paint Grymkin (HORDES)

 So, last year I managed to paint over 200 points of Grymkin, along with 4 of the 6 Warlocks, and played them in a few events, most notable Welsh Masters and the World Team Championship.  Being a limited release Faction, and my stylized colour scheme, means it is both cheaper and quicker to get them all fully painted.  I used the last of my Pressgang Points to pick up a second unit of Murder Crows and 2 Madcaps, along with some other stuff, so I have at least one of every available option for them.  The plan is to paint up the maximum Field Allowance for everything (jury's out on a second Death Knell though) with at least 3 of every available Warbeast, with a couple of exceptions.  I doubt I'll need 3 Clockatrice when they release in February, so, I'll do 2, and a 4th Cage Rager to run the Pat Dunford (or Mat Hickling, depends on who you believe) Dreamer list, and probably 4 sets of Crabbits, to max out the King of Nothing's warbeast points, or have spares for free cards.  I still have a fair bit of stuff to pick up, and more resin bases to order, but if I can even finish the models I own, I'll be happy with that.  So, starting Painting Resolution 1 with a target of 79 miniatures.

Well, I didn't get them all finished, but I did manage 113/175 points, so, not terrible.  I have another batch primed and ready to go though.  Lack of gaming played a big part in this, as I initially stalled after hurting my wrist in May, and kinda stopped playing shortly after that.  Half a point?  0.5/16

2. 2000 point Death army for #talesofinstahammer (Age of Sigmar)

This was a late addition to the list, but, I was already planning on doing a lot of the models for various Fantasy Dark Age gaming.  The 72 Zombies I had planned to use as Levy for my SAGA Draugr soon became 120...   I'm not going for a killer list, more, just random stuff that will be useable in multiple settings cobbled together to hit a points limit.  I had a lot of stuff already for this, so it's not a huge drain on funds, and might be subject to change depending on what the secret challenges for the Tale are.  There is a brief outline of tasks for the first 6 months of the year, followed by a 6 month open period where the plan is to finish the army, as far as I can make out, but, we'll see how it goes.  Current list adds 152 models to the tally, with some extra stuff like grave markers to be added.

Made a really strong start with this, then dropped towards the end once most of the hard work was done.  Still painted over 1500points of a 2000 point list so it wouldn't take too much work to finish this off at some point in future.  Another half point.  1/16

3. 24pt Tree Folk army in 15mm  (Dragon Rampant)

I really need to get back into my 15mm fantasy stuff, so I figured I'd do a Tree Folk/Forest Spirit/Nature based force for DR, mainly so I can throw dice with James and Sam, and it gives me the opportunity to go mad with clump foliage.  It's all going to be Demonworld models for this, which I already own, so all I really need is a couple of movement trays.  I did have to fudge the rules a little to get everything to fit, but I doubt either of them would care too much as it is thematic rather than gamey.  Another 31 models added to the tally (even if they are, mostly, small.)

Managed to get this one done.  Never played a game with them though, which seems to be a recrring theme with a lot of my projects...  2/16

4. 6pt Jomsviking force (SAGA)

I've owned a large amount of Wargames Foundry Vikings for going on 20 years now, and maybe 3 have been partially painted...  I figured it was time to rectify that, and it would give me a good start on models for Blood Eagle too.  I picked the Jomsviking for the sole reason that they can be built as an elite force, so I could get away with the lowest model count army possible.  I picked the most heavily armed and armoured sculpts I had, and sorted out enough shields with embossed emblems for them (I'll use the split shields for warrior units, and plain ones for any Levy models I get to.  Yes, I know I can't take Levy, but I can if I run them as standard Vikings)  6 Hearthguard units and Warlord adds another 25 models to the list.

Another finished project.  Probably my favourite of the year, after having owned them for so long.  3/16

5.  Taurian Army pack (Warband)

I picked these up a couple of years ago (Minotaur army, obviously) and figured I'd get them done too, as the Hordes of the Things painting went well last year.  This will add another 73 models to the list spread over 8 multibases, so, I'm not really sure how I count them.  It's a bit more than the 3-5 on a HotT base.  Sadly, I know the correct answer to this.

Okay, 8 Elements it is...

This was done at the eleventh hour, when I was spurred back to activity by James over at The Mad Tin Hatter for his charity project in memory of his son Joshua.  It was a humbling and sober moment watching his youTube video about Project Joshua, and I am glad to have been able to contribute in some way.  Hopefully the army draws attention to his cause and helps out in some way. 4/16 and a karma refill.

 

6.  15mm Worm Cult Picts (Hordes of the Things)

Despite not having seen the field of battle, I really like the miniatures I painted up last year for this, so I plan to add another 8 elements to the army, aiming to do a few new ones, and bulk out some of the options I already have painted.  I've ordered more Worms for them from Heresy Miniatures, and they are resin now, which should be lighter on the bases and easier to pin.  Again, 8 elements added to the total.







Nope.  Have the models primed and part done, but, not finished.  I was going to try and blitz them out this month, but other stuff took priority.  4/16. 

7.  Paint 4 Shadespire Warbands

So, I was planning on doing the two warbands from the original box, plus the Farstriders and picking up the Sepulchral Guard, but, seeing as I got the Nightvault box at Christmas, I'll do the Briar Queen set instead.  I'm still planning on painting Garrek's Reavers, although it might have been a better idea to do all 3 Stormcast Eternal warbands at the same time.  Another 18 models to add.

Well...  I painted one warband, and managed to get a bunch more built and primed.  Going to count this as half a point, because I have some finished figures to show for it.  4.5/16

8. 1200pt Norse Army (Of Gods & Mortals)

I've played OG&M a few times in 15mm with James, but I'm doing this in 28mm to get more of those Foundry Vikings done, and I wanted an excuse to pick up the gorgeous Odin sculpt from Nothstar.  I also wanted to paint up some Berserkers (that the Jomsvikings don't have access to, to allow me to run them as standard Vikings) and give me more stuff for Blood Eagle.  Got almost everything I have planned for the list, with the exception of a single Valkyrie (should have a female Foundry model somewhere) and some Trolls (also, these are somewhere, but I can't find them right now...)  Another 40 models on the list.

Well, this is a weird one.  I didn't really make much progress with the planned list (damned Trolls) but I did get some stuff done, and a fair amount of other minis that I can use for it (including the Jomsvikings) so, another half point.  5/16 

Total painting target - 361 miniatures/elements/multibases (443 actual miniatures).  I'd like to hit 365 miniatures painted over the year, so. getting all this done covers it (in individual models at least.) I'd also like to equal or beat my 2018 total, but really, I'm going to aim for 400 painted miniatures/elements for the year.





Okay, so just over half way with 5/8 points for painting.  My target was 400 miniatures/elements for the year, and a quick glance at the spreadsheet says - 531.  So, that's just a touch above my target and for those voices at the back, yeas, I did only count the 10mm Taurians as 1 per base.  Well happy with myself on this one, way over my expectations and surprising considering the amount of time I was away from my brushes.  Special thanks probably goes to dark wash zombies, and towards the end of the year, experiments with Contrast paint.

GAMING ( 4 resolutions)

9. Play 100 games.

Same as last year, keep hammering out games.  Doesn't matter what scale or genre, just keep putting painted figures on the table and pushing them around and having fun.  That's pretty much the whole reason for doing this, right?

I didn't break 40 games, so big fail.  Probably time to leave the house at some point.  5/16

10. Play 8 New Opponents

Again, stole this one from last year.  Probably because I managed it.  It was something that I claimed early in the year, but even then, I tripled the original figure.  It probably gets harder if I'm only playing one system, travel dependant, but as I add more painted forces to the stable, it should always be a possibility.

Managed this one, meaning I'm not a complete hermit.  6/16

11.  Play 8 board games.

Again, stolen from last year, but upped the number.  HATE should be arriving, and I'm keen to play that, hell knows if I'll ever see Rivals or Torn Armor, but I still have enough of a collection that I can do this.

Got halfway there.  TornArmour and World of Rivals didn't show up this year either, although God Tear did.  6.5/16

12.  Run APRIL FUEL DAZE 3!

Well, it's not personal gaming so to speak, but to continue the event I started as a Press Ganger, and give other people the opportunity to play, I'm planning the 3rd APRIL FUEL DAZE event.  As always, I want it to get bigger and better, and really have an impact on the Scottish Warmachine Scene.

Well APRIL FUEL DAZE 3! went off, so that's another point.  7.5/16

 

Ok, so, 2.5/4 for Gaming is more than I expected, but still an area I need to work at.  

HOBBY (4 resolutions)

13. Consistent Blogging

The plan is to continue with the same ideal as before, a weekly #workbenchWednesday post, and a monthly review post, showing where I am with my resolutions.

Big fail.  Long periods of being...  me, I guess.   Quick check says this will be the 30th post this year, so, close enough to half way.  8/16

14. Shows and Conventions

Aiming for at least 4 different shows or conventions.  Vapnartak and Carronade are pencilled in, I'm sure I can squeeze in a couple more.

Managed this one, which goes to show  (get it?) that I can leave the house when the possibility of buying new toys i on the cards.  9/16

15. Continue transferring paints to dropper bottles.

Herculean effort, glutton for punishment, call it what you will, I'm going to keep on keeping on with this one.  A quick count shows 27 Games Workshop, 74 Privateer Press and 366 Wargames Foundry paints (467 total) to be transferred.  And that isn't counting the newest P3 colours...  I managed most of the GW ones last year, so, hopefully I can at least finish them.

Nope.  No. Nein.  Non.  Not a single one done.  9/16

16. Even more blogging

I'd like to do at least one extra blog post per calendar month, on top of the weekly and monthly updates.  It could be on anything, a painting tutorial, recap of a show or event, battle report, discussion about an army list, I dunno.  I guess the plan is to just keep on putting stuff out there and hopefully build traffic on the blog.

2 articles done.   Nul points.  9/16

 

 

Well, seems that it is the blogging that is holding me back here.   It's weird,  it is so much easier to just whack pictures up on facebook/instagram/reddit and be done with it, without the need to feel like yo have to write an essay, and the engagement is a lot more immediate.  I guess I am just a bit frustrated about how slowly blogging seems to attract people, but then, I don't really engage either so...

 

 

 

 

So, I managed to get over the halfway points on my #hobbyresolutions2019 which is ok I guess, a few half points here and there making it up.  As usual, I've totally ignored certain plans, and done extra work on others, as well as taking up completely new projects.  I guess I just have to keep plugging away at it, because, between my heart and wrist, manual labour until I retire isn't an enticing prospect.

Various Contrast painted Demonworld minis.

Well, that pretty much sums up 2019, adequate but could apply himself more (It's like an old school report) so, I'll leave you with a little teaser of next year's plans before my #hobbyresolution2020 post tomorrow.  Surprising nobody, some of the projects might carry over, and there will be new stuff too, as my interests shift.

 

Stonecast Eternal

Lang may yer lum reek.  I'm off to try and finish the rest of that unit and tidy up my assembly station and desk for the New Year.

All the best,

John

#workbenchWednesday 11/12/19 and a charity shoutout

Firstly,  apologies all for the lack of posting.  It's been a funny few months, where I've kinda swung back and forth with enthusiasm and motivation.  I have been pottering away in the background on various things, and am still adding minis to the painted tally.  There is a huge blog post sitting in draft status hiatus, but, I don't know when or if that will be published.

I did recently finish off the Grymkin reinforcements that had been languishing on my desk since May, ironically after hurting my wrist, and just having left A&E mid shift with tendonitis...

The monkeys finally have Organ Grinders.

Other than the Grymkin, I've added more Foundry Vikings to my SAGA/Dark Age Fantasy force,  some 10mm Argatoria miniatures from Spellcrow, a couple of Nurgle characters and other stuff.



As promised, I said I'd let you know when the Ratmen I'd painted up for Ral Partha Europe were going to be available, and it turns out that it will be this month, via Kickstarter.  Credit to Paul for the photograph, although he almost got an angry message when I first saw it, because I wanted to know why they hadn't used the ones I had painted, then I sheepishly realised that they were the ones I had painted, just captured by someone that can actually use a camera...

What a difference being able to take photograps does.  I  should maybe look into that...

Yeah, definitely should look into that...

Finally, and the main reason for me putting fingers to keyboard again, a few weeks ago, while letting youTube videos play in the background, one popped up from James MacCraggs of the "Mad Tin Hatter" blog regarding some devastating news about his son.  Go visit the blog for details of the "For Joshua" project that he is undertaking.  The upshot of this is I wanted to do something to show support, so I figured, seeing as I was supposed to be doing the 10mm Taurian army as a #hobbyresolution, I'd toss them, and the extra figures I had towards helping him achieve his goals.

I've painted up 6 bases of Minotaurs (or Taurians) splitting the standard 12 model units into 6's, as well as an individually based hero and wizard to use as hero upgrade tokens or lesser commanders, as well as a 28mm Foundry Minotaur to use as a Giant or commander.  I have another 4 bases of minotaurs to do, along with the Warlord and Shaman stands, and 3 bases of various Centaurs to finish off the army pack.  I think I still have more random individual figures, so, I'll try and get a few more based up too before posting them off.

So, yeah, brief update to say I'm still about in the background, with thoughts of how to improve things next year, and to tell you to either look out for the "For Joshua" project at any of the game shows it will be at, and buy raffle tickets for it, or consider chipping in some minis.

Cheers for now,

John

#workbenchWednesday 17/07/19

Been another busy week...

Workbench is looking rather full, as, not content with working through 2 units of Berserkers and a unit of Dwarves, I made a start on some Artizan Design's Vikings I picked up just to try my hand at eBay sales.
All of them have had all the basecoats and a wash applied, so it is just a matter of going back over them and doing all the layering and highlights.

I also slapped some paint on the Blood Eagle objective from Footsore because I had it on the (freshly cleaned) pallet, and made a start on that Foundry Dwarf mini I picked up in Dumfries.

Had a nice surprise in the post too yesterday, the Kickstarter Exclusive Dark Watcher mini from Relicblade, so, he'll hopefully get started soon, once I find a snazzy resin (lipped) base for him.  Thanks Leon for adding him into your pledge.

Should fit my painting style.

Also managed my first game of SAGA: Age of Magic, a quick 4pt affair with no magic, just to get a handle on the boards.  Played Horde vs. Otherworld and got my rear end handed to me bouncing off multiple units of creatures...  Oh well, lesson learned - take more bows.


That's about it really, going to keep chipping away at the stuff on my desk, then hopefully get some stuff up on eBay too, as well as finishing off an article I've been battering away at for a week or so.

Until next time,

Cheers,

John

#workbenchWednesday 10/07/19

Slightly delayed because stuff that ended up with me sleeping like 12hrs straight...  Hey, at least I got a rest.

Workbench is busy.

Obviously moar Vikings on the go, 2 points of Berserkers for Saga Age of Magic, along with a unit of Oathmark Dwarves for my Of Gods & Mortals force.  I've also made a start on a Mantic Troll for that too, but it is such a horrendous sculpt, that I think I'm looking for some alternative models to use.

Just not keen on the ridiculous size of the hands and shoulders compared to the tiny legs.  Plus the mould lines are bad.   Back to the drawing board with them.. If anyone has any ideas about decent Troll figures with a Norse/Dark Age vibe, let me know.  Especially if they will fit on 40mm bases.

Sidelines are still full of Cephalyx, I'll get to them soon, just really want to finish the Berserkers to have 8pts for Age of Magic, and the Grymkin stuff.  Spoken to my boy Devon in the States about getting more pill bottle lids to have more stuff ready to go on the side, which means I can start a new unit whilst the newly finished ones are drying/waiting basing stuff.

Finally, just off the workbench, a unit of 12 Viking Archers, mixed feelings about them.  Paintwise, I like them, I went a little heavier on red and yellow than normal, partly because it helps me get over painting them (it hasn't been too bad) and partly to keep them from blending in too much to my Norman Archers, though the beards definitely help.  The mixed feelings arise from the fact I didn't string the bows, but the test one I did with a spare Frostgrave bow snapped over time, and I figured the metal would just bend.  Plus, a few of the other Archer sculpts are holding the bows at an angle that doesn't lend itself to stringing them.  Finally, painted 12 guys, and only 4 count for my Paint All The Vikings project, as well as my #hobbyresolution2019 project.  Still, 12 models added to the painted tally, so all is not for naught.

Viking Archers (Wargames Foundry)

In other news, finally put some models on the table and rolled dice, blooding my Jomsvikings vs. my Normans, commanded by Sarah.  Played the basic scenario to get back into the swing of things, obviously been a while since either of us played, plus it was our first time running our prospective forces.  We called it partway through the 5th turn after a glorious charge from the Mounted Norman Warlord bounced off my hardy Jomsviking Warlord, and he was swiftly cut down.

The Wrath mechanic is definitely interesting, a bit damned if you do, damned if you don't when it comes to forcing your opponent to choose what they let you do.  I'm interested to do more testing with it, although, I think I need to bulk out my force a bit with some Warriors.

So, plan over the next week is to get the Berserkers and Dwarves finished and ready to play.  I'm going to carry the viking colours over to the Dwarves, as they will fight alongside them, rather than replicate the half and half uniform I started when I painted the metals.  Lazy I know, but should work out better overall, they are a Fantasy Dark Age force after all.

Let's be honest, they are just short Vikings right?  (Northstar Miniatures)

That's it for now then, see you next week.

Cheers,

John

#workbenchWednesday 03/07/19

Well the workbench is back to the standard busy state.  I've done all the drybrushing and tidying up the rims on 8 Berserkers, 8 Viking Warriors, 8 Oathmark Dwarves and 12 Viking Archers.  I made a start earlier on the Archers, as well as the Northstar Valkyrie, and have the metals blocked in and inked, the skin blocked in, and I've started work on the cloth.  I'm hoping that by tackling the largest unit first, the rest will seem quicker to do.  Plus, only one of these has a shield to attach.

Bow down before us.

I've also cleaned up the Foundry Dwarf I picked up earlier this year (along with finding his twin and brothers in the attic) a Centaur and the Blood Eagle piece from Footsore Miniatures to use as an objective/marker.  Not content with that, I put together the Godsworn Hunt Underworlds warband, and slapped some paint on a 15mm Cultist whilst waiting on the kids getting dressed.

Pretty much the rest of the years stuff.

So, with the exception of the Northstar Odin model, some Grymkin and my Warband Taurians, that is pretty much everything for my #hobbyresolution2019 projects cleaned, assembled and primed.  I've sorted them all out on to a tray to keep them together, and let me pull them down to the workstation as required.

I did give Odin a wash earlier to remove the release agent on him, but I think I want to do a more in depth look at him in an article.  Hobby progress has slowed slightly due to the kid's summer holidays, but should pick up again next week.

Cheers,

John

Month in Review - June 2019

Well, it is the halfway point of the year, so let's have a little check in on progress to start off with.

More of this to come.

Amount	Task	Completed
78	Fully Paint Grymkin (HORDES)	23	29%
152	Paint Tales of Instahammer 2000pt Death Army (AoS)	138	91%
31	Paint 15mm Tree Folk army (Dragon Rampant)	31	100%
8	Paint 10mm Taurian Army (Warband)		0%
8	Paint 8 new elements for 15mm Picts (Hordes of the Things)		0%
6	Paint 6+ pts Jomsviking force (SAGA)	6	100%
4	Paint 4 Shadespire Warbands	1	25%
40	Paint 1200pt Norse Army (Of Gods & Mortals)	6	15%
100	Play 100 Games	36	36%
8	Play 8 new opponents	8	100%
8	Play 8 Boardgames	4	50%
1	Run April Fuel Daze 3!	1	100%
64	Maintain blog with weekly and monthly posts	23	36%
4	Go to 4 shows or conventions	4	100%
467	Transfer flip top paints to dropper bottles		0%
12	Write 1 extra blog post per month (BatRep, tutorial, review etc)	2	17%
991		28.56%
	January, February, March	2	50%
	April, May, June	3	75%
	July, August, September		0%
	October, November, December		0%

So, 5/16 #hobbyresolution2019 projects completed so far, not quite the halfway point I'd hoped for, but I guess it is OK considering my time away from stuff, and the random extras.  Let's break down the tasks I am still working on for a closer look.

1. Grymkin - I have a bunch of the newest releases already primed and started on the desk right now, and it is really only 20 Dreadrots, a few solos and Crabbits that I still have to assemble of the stuff I already own.  Should be fine once I get into the swing of it.

2.  Tales of Instahammer army - I only had 14 models still to assemble and paint before I quietly dropped from this, bit of a bugger, as I'd started off really strong.  I have the Incorporeal stuff started, and my General is assembled, with just some Bat Swarms to build.  Could probably still get it done over the next 6 months.

4. Taurian Warband Army - not touched this yet.  Still doable.

5. New Hordes of the Things Elements - well, they are all currently on painting sticks and started.  Should be doable once I get a chance.

7. Shadespire Warbands - painted one of the 4.  I have 3 more primed, but I keep changing my mind about the colourscheme for the Stormcast ones.  Again, should be easy, once I settle into it.

8.  Of Gods & Mortals army - Finished 6 figures so far.  The rest of the army is assembled, and with the exception of the archers, primed.  Enjoying painting the Foundry Vikings right now, so should be completed soon.

9.  Play 100 Games - haven't played a game since just after Welsh Masters. 

11.  Play 8 Boardgames - Nope.  The table in the Games Room has been a bit cluttered recently, and my semi-regular visit to the Warchest was postponed due to the kids being off school.

13. Maintain weekly/monthly Blog posts - Back on it after a bit of a hiatus.

15.  Transfer paints - not touched them.

16.  Extra Blog Posts - not kept up to date with these, not really been sure what to write.


So a bit of a mixed bag, still a lot I can get done over the next 6 months though, even if I can't tick them all off the list.

Still, on a more positive note or 3.

One, I finished the 6pts of Jomsvikings for SAGA over the course of two weeks.

Hearthguard unit 5/6 (Wargames Foundry)

Hearthguard unit 6/6 (Wargames Foundry)

6pts of Jomsviking Hearthguard and Warlord (Wargames Foundry)

Two, I've rearranged a load of stuff in the lair to sort my head out a bit.  Mass photodump.  I've added them from how the bookcase sits top down.  No prizes for making out what every drawer says.  I still need to go through them all again and make sure everything has bases and stuff, and figure out what ones I can get shot of as I'll never actually paint them.  But yeah, for the most part, it is stuff that I hope to get around to at some point.  The books on this unit are the games I actually have fully painted playable forces for, but I'll have to check, as I can probably add a few more now.

And next to that, I have sorted out the shelves of primed stuff, books and bases.  I might one day read these books, nevermind have painted forces for them...

Three, to date, I have painted 365 miniatures in the 6 months of this year, meaning I only have to paint another 14 to surpass last years total.

Viking Command (Wargames Foundry)

Fire Giant Warrior (Huge) (Reaper Bones 77616)

OK, so it said Fire Giant on the packet, but he is a Frost Giant now.  I cut the flails off his armour at the front, because I didn't like how they looked, and painted him up for OG&M and Blood Eagle.  He is a big lad (that's a 65mm lipped base) and being Bones suffers from shady details in place, as well as remaining a bit sticky to touch...  Still, he's done now and the 2 Viking Command were just because I figured it would be handy to have them for Blood Eagle or running units of Vikings in Dragon/Lion Rampant.

And that's it for the update.  Trailing a bit on some things, way ahead on others, and hopefully back into a good head space to keep at it.

See you Wednesday,

Cheers,

John